The origin of Rhodes is connected to a myth mentioned by Pindar. According to that myth, twhen Zeus defeated the Giants and became lord and master of the Earth, he decided to divide it up among the Olympian gods. But during this division Helios, the Sun-God, was absent and “no one remembered to include him in the draw and thus this purest of the gods was left without a country of his own”. When Helios returned he complained to Zeus about the injustice that had been done to him and he asked the father of the gods to promise him that the land that would come forth from the sea would become his. And indeed while he was speaking, a beautiful, flower-strewn island began to slowly merge from the deep blue sea. It was Rhodes. Overcome with happiness Helios bathed the island in his own radiance and made it the loveliest island in the Aegean Sea.
Another myth attributes the origin of Rhodes to the love Helios had for the nymph Rhodos, who was the daughter of Poseidon, the god of the sea. When he saw her, as the myth tells us, Helios was so smitten by her beauty that he made her his wife. Together they had one daughter and seven sons. According to the myth, one of their sons, Kerkafos, had three children: Kameiros, lalyssos and Lindos who built the three largest towns on the island. It is also said that the island took its name from the nymph Rhodos alone, while another source says the name comes from Greek word for rose. On this island of myths and flowers, the centuries have left the marks of a flourishing and rich culture. Its geographical position has played an important role in the develop of the island’s commerce, even in prehistoric times and it has provided it with long periods of prosperity throughout its three thousand year long history.
The emerald isle of Rhodes lies in the southeastern part of the Aegean sea on the sea lane between East and West. It is the largest island there and the capital of a complex of approximately two hundred other islands known as the Dodecanese. Several of these, including Rhodes itself, broke through the surface of the sea in the distant past as a result of earthquakes. The fossilized seashells on the slopes of the mountains confirm this and add substance to the myth of Rhodes’ birth.
Rhodes lies 270 nautical miles from Piraeus and is surrounded by the islands ofSymi, Titos, Chalki and Alimia as well as the rocky outcroppings of Tragousa, Makry, Strongyli, Drosonisi, Prasonisi, Galouniand Tetrapoli. It has an area of 1,400 sq. km., a length of 78 km. and a width of 38 km. at its widest point. Its coastline has a length of 220 km. consisting primarily of level sand beaches split by steep cliffs. The southernmost point of the island is found at Prasonisi which is joined to the island by a strip of sand. The land is by and large mountainous, with small plains, verdant ravines and river-beds, valleys and plateaus. The highest mountain is Attavyros (1,215m.) with the smaller mountains ofAkramytis (825m.) and Profitis Ilias (798 m.). Rhodes has, on an average, 300 days of sunshine a year. The continual sunshine and the mild climate make the island suitable for viticulture. Its superb climate, the fertile soil and the geographical position are the main factors which have made the island densely populated from antiquity up to the present. Its population today is around 90,000 and they are able to play host to more than 1,250,000 visitors a year. Visitors who come to enjoy the island’s natural beauty and to get acquainted with its long history.

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